The Criminal Court of Skopje rejects Grub's appeal

2024-12-24 22:49:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Basic Court in Skopje decided on Tuesday that the detention of 30 days for the former first deputy prime minister, Artan Grubi, remains in force, and the same will be applied from the moment he is available to the criminal prosecution bodies.

This decision follows the appeal made last week by Grubi's lawyer against the decision of this court, which, at the proposal of the Public Prosecutor's Office, ordered the measure of detention on December 17.

"The Criminal Council, acting on the complaint submitted by the defense of the AG, unavailable to the prosecution bodies, against the decision of the pre-trial judge, made a decision rejecting the defense's appeal and confirming the decision of the pre-trial judge preliminary", announced the Criminal Court of Skopje on December 24.

Grubi, together with the former director of the State Lottery, Përparim Bajrami, are accused of "embezzlement of illegal wealth" from the State Lottery, while the damage caused is estimated to be around 8.2 million euros. On December 18, an international arrest warrant was issued against them.

So far, none of them are available to law enforcement.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Grubi, who was blacklisted in the United States for corruption on December 9, has denied having fled the country. He has said that he is abroad for a 'private visit', without giving more details.

Grub's location still a mystery

The Minister of Internal Affairs in North Macedonia, Pancho Toshkovski, during an interview for the Macedonian television Telma, on December 23, said that no neighboring country has submitted confirmations about the possible stay of Artan Grubi in their territories.

He emphasized that he does not want to speculate on the current location, but added that he would like to believe his statement that he will return to the country.

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, announced earlier than a few hours before the start of the police action on December 16, the former Deputy Prime Minister, accompanied by a local businessman, (Arsim Paparinku), who as an honorary consul was traveling in a car with license plates diplomatic, had passed through the border point of Bllaca towards Kosovo.

Radio Free Europe on December 18 addressed the Kosovo Police to confirm if there is information that Grubi is in Kosovo, as well as the Ministry of Justice to ask if it will cooperate in his extradition if he is found and arrested in Kosovo, but not received an answer.

However, on December 21, the first deputy prime minister, Izet Mejhiti, from the Albanian coalition VLEN, denied Mickoski's claims, asserting that Artan Grubi is not in Kosovo, but in Albania. Mejhiti did not give more details, but added that it is the duty of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has cooperation with Interpol, to find him and bring him back to the country.

The claims that Grubi is hiding in Albania have not yet been denied, nor have they been officially confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior of the Albanian state.

Can Grubi get political asylum?

Prime Minister Mickoski does not expect any of the neighboring countries to grant Grub political asylum if he requests it, because, he says, he has been blacklisted by the US for crime and corruption, not for political reasons.

"Here we are not talking about political reasons, but it is something different from politics - the suspicion of a committed crime. I do not expect that he will receive asylum, but it is still a decision of those who will enter such a procedure," said Mickoski on Tuesday, in front of reporters.

On the other hand, the Albanian opposition party, the Democratic Union for Integration (BDI) claims that the case with Grubin would not have happened if VMRO-DPMNE and the Albanian coalition VLEN had not blocked their legal proposal, which provided for strict restrictions on individuals included in the "black list" of the USA, for corruption. During the weekend, DUI once again asked the Government to approve the Law on restrictive measures.

Mickoski, asked if the Government will approve this law, answered in the negative.

"This Government will not adopt laws that are in conflict with the Constitution. We will always work in accordance with positive legal norms and the Constitution, which are two main pillars for us. In the legislation, we have provided measures for these people," added Mickoski .

Grubi, former MP, now former member of DUI, in the opposition, risks being sentenced to up to five years in prison, if found guilty. The party has called on him to return and face justice.

Among the suspects in the case of the State Lottery are the former prime minister and former leader of the Social Democratic League of Macedonia (LSDM), Dimitar Kovacevski, as well as the former general secretary of the Government, Metodija Dimovski, who are accused of "misuse of official position and authority".

Kovacevski has denied the accusations./REL